By Zephyria 
“Why?”
Even with the question thrown at him, Eden stared silently outside. He took the candle from Ha-jin and walked towards the shoe rack.
Swish, swish—the rain was getting heavier. Surely zombies wouldn’t be out, so was it the military? Ha-jin, belatedly feeling a sense of crisis, grabbed a kitchen knife lying on the floor and jumped to his feet.
He quickly approached Eden from behind, and a soft question was heard.
“Do you like animals?”
At the sudden question, Ha-jin’s gaze turned to the glass door.
Whine… Whimper….
Something black, hidden in the dark. Soon, Ha-jin’s eyes widened as he recognized the unidentified presence.
As Eden brought the candle closer to the glass door, the whimpering grew louder. Ha-jin slowly opened his mouth as he saw a medium-sized dog sitting under the eaves of the entrance, barely avoiding the rain. It was that military dog he had seen at Misan Ranch.
The Doberman Pinscher’s ears drooped. It looked quite dejected as it lifted its front paw and scratched at the glass door, a far cry from its fierce barking, “Woof! Woof!” towards the Ranch fence.
Pity crept onto Ha-jin’s face at the dog’s cautious behavior.
“It looks like he’s shivering. I don’t know if it’s from the rain or if he’s hurt….”
Ha-jin, who had already squatted in front of the glass door, turned to Eden and asked.
“He doesn’t look like a zombie, does he?”
“He doesn’t seem like one. If he had been bitten, he wouldn’t be so docile.”
“Oh? Wait, do you see that under his paw?”
Ha-jin pointed to a shimmering silver object. Part of it was hidden by its front paw, but it wasn’t hard to recognize that it was his brooch.
Surprised, he pressed his face close to the glass door, and the dog moved its front paw as if it had been waiting. Soon, the silver brooch with the initials ‘H/J’ revealed its presence. The military dog immediately lowered its snout and picked up the brooch in its mouth.
It wagged its tail, panting, looking like a child wanting praise.
No way. It felt like the sleep clinging to his eyelids was instantly gone. Eden opened his mouth in place of Ha-jin, who couldn’t speak.
“It seems it wasn’t a coincidence that he came all the way here. It must have been difficult to track with the rain, he’s quite capable. What do you think about letting him in?”
“Are you sure he came alone?”
Eden wore a faint smile on his lips, as if he was impressed that Ha-jin was asking such a sharp question.
“Your suspicion has increased a lot. That’s good progress.”
He tapped Ha-jin on the shoulder and stood up.
“I was going to do a quick patrol anyway to see if there were any problems. Do Ha-jin, keep watching.”
“Oh, you’ll get wet, take an umbrella.”
Ha-jin immediately grabbed an umbrella stuck in the corner of the shoe rack and handed it to Eden, who was about to leave. He watched him disappear into the dark and turned his head again.
The dog still held the brooch in its mouth. Ha-jin tilted his head, staring at the panting military dog.
“Where are your friends? Are you the only one who survived?”
As he whispered softly, the dog’s ears twitched near his cheek. He let out a slow sigh towards the child who was listening intently.
“Why did you come all the way here…? You’re just going to suffer.”
What they did at the Ranch was close to delivering justice, but the dog in front of him had lost his home in an instant, caught up in the humans’ fight.
Ha-jin grimaced and swallowed a groan, rubbing his face roughly. Soon after, Eden, who had returned with the smell of rain, asked him.
“There’s no sign of anyone else. Shall we stop punishing him and open the door?”
“Yes, thank you for your trouble.”
Soon, the glass door opened. The Doberman, who he thought would come right in, sat in place as if waiting for an order, its eyes shining. As soon as Ha-jin said, “Come in,” it jumped up, wagging its tail, and entered the dining room.
“This guy is really smart, isn’t he?”
Ha-jin’s voice was somehow excited. While he rubbed the brooch, which was covered in saliva, on his short-sleeved shirt, Eden skillfully stroked the dog’s sturdy back with his palm.
“Doberman Pinschers are originally smart breeds. They’re easy to train and enjoy missions. There was one that looked just like him in my unit.”
As if he was in a good mood, his resilient tail wagged like a propeller.
“Sit.”
At his command, the dog readily folded its hind legs and sat down.
Eden, who was always strict, had a rather generous expression on his face. Dawn was already breaking over his face.
Likewise, the blue light of dawn touched the Doberman’s shiny black fur. Ha-jin stared curiously at the child sitting with an elegant posture, then finally looked down.
Oh… He’s a male.
As he just stared blankly without touching him, Eden asked teasingly.
“Have you never seen a dog before?”
“Huh? No, it’s not that. It’s just that it’s my first time seeing a Doberman this close….”
Except for his experience training pigeons and rabbits for magic, he hadn’t had much to do with animals.
Ha-jin awkwardly raised his hand and stroked the dog’s back. The firm skin, where he could feel the muscles, wrapped around under his palm. It felt strange. While he caressed the addictive skin, Eden also sat down next to him.
He scratched the child’s chin with his index finger, carefully examining his body.
“Fortunately, I don’t see any injuries.”
“Right. How did he come down without a single scratch when there were so many zombies?”
“When you think about it, I’ve never seen an animal bitten by a zombie.”
Aside from zoonotic diseases, it meant that zombies might not react to animals at all. It was as if someone had deliberately designed a virus to eradicate only mankind.
Eden let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded. Ha-jin, who seemed to have the same thought, scratched his forehead with a bewildered expression.
“It’s a relief, but it feels a bit… strange. If humans go extinct, does that mean only animals will be left on Earth?”
“Who knows. Maybe the existing humans have been replaced by zombies, a New Human.”
“No way. How is that the appearance of a New Human?”
Eden, who was about to answer Ha-jin, who was horrified, closed his mouth. He thought it would be better to refrain from making speculative remarks that zombies seemed to be evolving. Now was the time to focus on survival. There was no need to make Do Ha-jin anxious.
Dawn was already breaking. Ha-jin put his nose to the military dog’s wet nose, showed him the brooch, thanking him, and then went back to sleep. When he woke up again, the clear morning sunlight was shining on his toes.
Ha-jin glanced at the Doberman, who was burying his nose in a large bowl and licking up the porridge, and asked.
“Are you really going to take him?”
“His sense of smell is developed, so he’s more likely to notice zombies than we are. He’s a well-trained friend, so it’ll be easy to take him around.”
“What about food? What if you take him and end up starving him?”
“He’s a stray anyway, so he’ll starve even if we don’t take him. It’s better to suffer together than that.”
Hmm… Ha-jin leaned his upper body towards Eden with a meaningful smile.
“You’re not withdrawing Jeong Tae-geon’s accompaniment, are you? I’ve been feeling it since yesterday… Is there a change of heart or something?”
He frowned as if he was dumbfounded.
“Is a change of heart necessary to take a dog, not even a human?”
Pfft…! Ha-jin, who burst into laughter without resistance, shook his head. Eden looked at him, who was grinning, and asked back.
“Then, Do Ha-jin, do you not want to get attached this time either? Tell me now if you’re not going to take him.”
“Geez, why would I think about that when taking a dog? And I’m already attached, okay?”
While exchanging trivial stories, Ha-jin packed survival supplies in a golden cloth. Two folding umbrellas, food, and ownerless hiking boots were packed, and the cloth quickly swelled up.
His gaze, after changing into dry clothes, reached the duck T-shirt he had thrown on the floor. Should he take it or not? Eden, realizing he was hesitating, scolded him.
“It’s not the time to worry about the design. It’s a spare shirt, so pack it.”
…Is he my mom or what? Ha-jin pouted, but obediently picked up the T-shirt.
❖ ❖ ❖
@Public Funds
The Doberman also had a rose-patterned cloth on its back. Eden, Ha-jin, and the Doberman, who were leaving with the cloth straps tied around their chests, had very friendly and similar backs.
They headed back towards the Insan-Nogwang Expressway. The expressway was quite far from Jeongmang Mountain, so they had to move their feet diligently.
If they calculated the remaining distance after arriving, it would take four days to Hwajeong City and about ten days from Hwajeong City to Yongun Tollgate. They had to endure two weeks to meet the group again.
Eden quietly stared at Ha-jin’s hand, which was fiddling with the brooch. The wrist where the rope had been tied was glistening with newly applied ointment. Even if the wound healed, the scar would not disappear easily. It was a gruesome scar that didn’t suit his fair skin at all.
Should he have peeled off Lieutenant Colonel So’s face?
It wasn’t even him who was hurt, but he clicked his tongue in regret for some reason, carefully caressing the depleted ointment in his pocket.